It does manage to touch on so many subjects, despite being a fantasy, I think it conveys humanity and the experience of living so much better than most other shows.
Frieren is what got me liking anime. Its story really resonates with my personal beliefs because it’s built around “the journey is just as important as the destination”.
cuz the show is almost flawless. it scores S++ in everything it tries. so much so that i can list the flaws: 1. Fern called Stark a "P&rv" twice at ep12 at tge final moments, she should have only called him it once. it wasnt as funny the 2nd time and especially since we just had an emotional arc about Stoltz like 2 seconds ago. 2. at ep28 Denken claims Frieren is the whole reason he became a mage to begin with, which felt forced tacked on and added nothing and appeared outta nowhere(i am like 500% sure they are gonna flesh it out more in the s2 otherwise it feels unnecessary) there you go no need to thank me. i listed all of the flaws of this show (all 2 of them) in here a show that has its 500+ minutes of screentime so far. it is just flawless honestly
I think another thing that makes this series so unbelievably beautiful is the relationship between Frieren and Fern. Guardian and Ward, Teacher and Student, Mother/Child/Child/Mother, and Friend. They intertwine into one of the most beautiful, natural blooming relationships I've experienced in media. They struggle to understand each other, they learn from one another, and they show love for each other in each of their own ways. It is such a believable relationship. And they, like we are all the richer for getting to experience it.
So true, I didn't take much time to talk individually on character relationships in this video but if I did it would've probably been over the 20 min mark lol. The character writing is nothing short of amazing
i agree frieren beyond's journey is probably the best anime i have ever seen, I think a big part of that is that it doesn't seem like smth that is meant to entertain but rather like a story meant to be discovered. I don't know i just love it
In a weird way, I think you hit the nail on the head. It's hard to explain, but it doesn't feel like the author forces things for entertainment's sake but allows the story to slowly evolve over time. It's kind of like a crock pot meal that simmers all day compared to throwing something in the microwave for a quick meal, lol. Respect for it being your favorite show, definitely near the top of my list.
Of my 24 years of reading manga and watching anime, I have never seen an anime and a manga that this relatable, deep story telling, cozy and so full of life lessons. It instantly, instantly became my favorite anime. I don't even care what other people will say about it which is also a first time for me. I always argue when people talk sht about an anime I like lol but this one is different like if they can't see how well made this anime/manga is, I'm just wasting my time arguing with them that their brains can't even comprehend how intricate and delicate this masterpiece is. It's for my own peace of mind and I know, Himmel would've done the same.
It's crazy how a fantasy about an Elf living thousands of years is literally one of the most relatable shows lol. It really is a special show. As for people who don't enjoy it, they are usually people who don't typically enjoy slower stories, which is understandable, it's not for everyone. I haven't really heard anyone criticize the story itself with anything valid enough outside of that tho, I think it's just that good.
Great video. However, I just want to point out some things regarding the magic system and specifically the thing about visualization. """ Important lore that a lot of people get wrong [Part 1 of 2] Short version; Visualization is important, but it's not the be-all-end-all and Frieren doesn't fall for mimics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long version; (I) The magic system and especially the thing about visualization A spoiler-free explanation of the magic system in the Frieren world is as follows: There are 4 components to a mage's magic-casting in the Frieren world: (1) Mana: How much mana/magical-energy they have. Note that other than a mage's initial mana-capacity, which is affected by the following; (a) PROBABLY genetics and/or the acquired skills/traits of the parents (ie, mana in each of the parents when the child was conceived and maybe even the mother's mana until birth). This is because mana seems to be inherited to some extent (eg, Ehre benefitting from being Lernen's granddaughter). (b) MAYBE their race (ie, demon vs elf vs dwarf vs human). However, it's unknown how this affects the initial mana-capacity (eg, Flamme in her 20s-30s? and Aura in her 500+ years of age, had similar amounts of mana). (c) Other currently unknown factors (eg, maybe the Goddess' Blessing since Heiter had a ton of mana even in his 20s?). a mage's mana-capacity is directly proportional to the amount of time that they have been training it (which correlates to their age). Also, mana has other uses than just being the 'fuel' for spell-casting. Specifically, mages with lots of mana have additional benefits compared to 'normal' members of their race. This point will be further expanded upon in a later arc as well. (2) Control: How much mana and how precisely they can control it. This also includes controlling spells after they've been fired off (eg, Frieren curving her Basic Offensive Magic around Fern's Basic Defensive Magic in their practice duel). Note that even raw mana can be used to achieve simple yet effective results if a mage has a high degree of control (eg, Frieren defending her neck against Draht's wire). This point will be further expanded upon in a later arc as well. Another very important case of mana control, is the act of limiting output. Any decent mage (with a good amount of mana control) can temporarily limit their mana (for the purpose of surprising a foe). This is called Concealment. It's basically a mage reducing their mana output from 100% to as close to 0% as they can, while they try to sneak attack an enemy. However, after the sneak attack, there is no value to doing this, since an enemy with magical abilities can probably detect that the attacker is reducing their mana output from the fluctuations seen through mana detection (and even the attacker's unconcealed mana level can be detected, thus making the limiting completely useless at this point). Examples: (a) Fern sneak attacking Lugner in S01E08. (b) Lugner sneak attacking Fern in S01E09. Suppression, on the other hand, is the technique of limiting your mana output at all times (to say 10%). This is a useful technique because it can easily create situations where your enemies underestimate you. A mage that performs Suppression, can also do Concealment and how that works is as follows: They reduce from 10% to as close to 0% as they can, and then go back to 10% after they lift their Concealment. Now, the reason why Suppression isn't feasible for most HUMANs (and here I literally mean just humans and not dwarves and definitely not elves) is that to be able to fool demons and monsters, you either need to be very talented at mana control like Flamme and Fern, or have a very long amount of time (ie, at least a few centuries) to practice Suppression and reduce the fluctuations as much as possible like Serie and Frieren. Thus, making this technique not worth it, since the return for your time-investment is so little. As Serie says, you're better off training other things. As for why Suppression is a dishonesty and a mockery of magic, consider the following examples, which are somewhat equivalent to what mages practicing this technique are doing: (a) A black-belt joining a white-belt martial-arts tournament. (b) A soldier disguising themself as a civilian, and then attacking a target. Basically, mages performing Suppression are hiding their power to intentionally create situations where their opponent is led to underestimating them. This would make them dishonest, but also shows them to be not truly proud of their achievements in magic to be confronting their foes straight-on with their full force and without trickery. (3) Spell: The magical formulas that they know and are able to use. Examples: Basic Offensive/Defensive Magic, Reelseiden. Note that the spell formula dictates what is possible or impossible. Examples: (a) Basic Offensive Magic cannot pierce dragon scales or Basic Defensive Magic, regardless of the attacker's visualization. Otherwise, Frieren would've taught Fern how to do it when she asked Fern to attack the Solar Dragon in S01E05 in the former case, and Basic Defensive Magic would actually be useless in the latter case. (b) Frieren's spell to clean a bronze statue not being usable for a stone statue. If it was purely a visualization based system, then there is absolutely no reason for why Frieren wouldn't be able to use the folk spell in S01E16 to clean Kraft's & Unknown-Priest's statues. (4) Visualization: Needed to activate/use a spell since a mage cannot make something happen if they can't clearly/exactly picture the desired outcome. Note that to clearly/exactly picture an outcome, one needs to have a complete understanding of said outcome. Therefore, they should have a complete understanding of the process that created that specific outcome/result as well (since only understanding an outcome without understanding the generating process, will be incomplete at best and flawed at worst). This is pretty much how it is in real life as well. Furthermore, a weak visualization can weaken a spell, but a strong visualization cannot strengthen a spell. Examples: (a) Regardless of Aura's visualization, her scales were already tilting towards Frieren, even though Aura was unaware that Frieren had more mana at that point. If it was a purely visualization based system, then Aura would've been able to dominate/control anyone including Frieren. (b) Ubel's visualization is ONLY taking advantage of Reelseiden's formula to cut anything in a 5? meter radius. Even she is unable to fully maximize the spell, since she cannot visualize cutting Basic Defensive Magic. However, she can visualize cutting more things than most people, so she's still a very proficient user of this spell. -------------------------------------------------- In summary, the visualization component of magic is just like in real life; you will surely fail if you have a 'bad' mindset, but a 'good' mindset does NOT guarantee success (ie, a 'good' mindset is a necessary, but insufficient condition for success since external factors are still a thing). Visualization is important, but it's not the be-all-end-all. Spells determine what's possible or not, and a mage's visualization can make them achieve between 0% to 100% of a spell's potential. They cannot just bs visualize/imagine themself into winning and/or doing the impossible.
Important lore that a lot of people get wrong [Part 2 of 2] Also, there is technically one more component, which may fall under Control, but since I'm not convinced that it definitely does (and also because it's not completely crucial for just casting magic alone as a singular mage), I've written it below as a separate point: (5) Detection: How accurately a mage can detect mana in a certain radius with themself at the center. This is extremely important for battle, since it relates to: (a) Finding hidden enemies (who are probably concealing their mana). (b) Becoming aware of surprise attacks not caught by the physical senses (eg, being shot from behind). (c) Not underestimating a strong foe who's pretending to be weaker than they are (ie, mages who suppress their mana like Serie, Flamme, Frieren, and Fern). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above info is from: S01E02: First half of the episode with Frieren teaching Fern. S01E03: Second half of the episode on Killing Magic. S01E05: Second half of the episode with the Solar Dragon. S01E08: Pretty much all of it. :) S01E09: Pretty much all of it. :) S01E10: Pretty much all of it. :) S01E15: First half of the episode on Goddess' Magic. S01E16: Second half of the episode with the statue cleaning quest. S01E20: Pretty much all of it. :) S01E21: Pretty much all of it. :) S01E26: Pretty much all of it. :) S01E27: Second half of the episode with the CMA heads meeting. (CMA = Continental Magic Association & CMA heads = Serie + 1st class mages) S01E28: Credits showing Ehre introducing Lernen to Wirbel (specifically, 23:37-23:30), which combined with the info from S01E20 (specifically, 14:50-14:55), allows us to conclude that Lernen is Ehre's grandfather. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, there are a few additional minor notes for points 2 and 3 (ie, Control and Spell) that I have not included due to being spoilers for anime-onlys. (II) Frieren vs Mimics Putting aside jokes and memes, I have seen far too many people and even video essays on UA-cam (some of which claiming to be serious analysis types) thinking/saying that Frieren falls for mimics. However, the truth is; Frieren doesn't fall for mimics. She chooses to take the risk when it's safe to do so (ie, outside of battle situations) because she doesn't lose anything of value (and because the mimic-check spell is only 99% accurate). Specifically, she loses a little time while in the mimic and then later when fixing her hair (but she doesn't care about that because she has practically infinite time), and suffers a little reputation damage (but she doesn't care about how others view her all that much). On the other hand, she may gain something (eg, maybe the shaved-ice spell shown in the flashback in S01E06). In summary, she loses nothing and may gain something so why not try them all? """ This was basically my entire main post on "rFrieren" titled "Important Lore that a lot of people get wrong".
Dang what an awesome explanation! For this video lengths sake I summarized the magic system considerably, but it's incredible how much depth there is to the magic system (that I completely missed at the beginning of the show lol)
Im so glad this anime came out recently vs when I was a child, I feel like so much of it I would have missed if I watched it as a teenager when I first got into anime
Why very few people analyze the story telling? There is wonderful video essay called "When you tell an entire story in 9 minutes". It explains how well Frieren is written. The writing follows something called "bracketed ideas". The show is structured in a way that it builds its setups very meticulously and preemptively which allows for the pay-off to be very satisfying and not artificially shoehorned afterwards. Not only this but the pay-offs does not end up there. They continues being explored and having impact in other episodes which add nuances to the themes, character and the world. Thus everything - from Fern and Stark catching fish, to Frieren saying random quote like "I am used to loosing things" have meaning in the whole picture. Another thing is that the show is grounded and realistic. A lot of people fall into the trap of the anime tropes while watching it - expecting power levelling, flexing and screaming who is who, which lead to someone getting stronger etc. But here the struggles are internal. For example very few people noticed how throughout the series Fern was shown several times to pass very nervously between ridges on wooden logs. This represents her lack of confidence in herself. The relationships are very human like, instead of being hyperbolic and on the nose. Every action has consequences in the world the show is developed. For example Frieren saying "I know" to Fern in ep.17 when holding her hand for 2nd time. We were shown preemptively how Frieren still see Fern as a kid, it showed why Fern felt embarrassed, it gave us their perspectives and also added Stark's one and the origin of holding the hand. So when Frieren said this quote it was build comprehensively. There was no need of 5 mins of verbal exposition or internal dialog who feels what. We saw how the setup and payoffs were build in front of us. This is something which is hard to find in other animes. And I watched over 500 of them. P.S: Great video!
I think if I went full depth on the writing style I think I would've had to make another video lol. The show is amazing at being intentional with every moment they have your attention for set ups, pay-offs, character moments, and plot developments to feel incredibly natural like you said. It's such a nice change of pace from the exposition dump on what's going on with the plot or what someone thinks/feels. And holy cow that's a ton of shows lol! Thanks for the comment!
I think one of the great things about the story of the Demon King being defeated already, is Frieren reminiscing. The story is over, but we know Himmel’s favourite flower, we know why the giant burger is prepared on a warrior’s birthday, we know the battles fought along the way. The story is “over” and yet we’re learning about it during the new story, at journey’s end…
amazing video highlighting the most under utilized part of magic, its creativity and how free it truly is. Amazing video all the way through can't wait too see more of your video's
This is a love letter to enjoying life and understanding those around you. I think Frieren appears cold to those around her, and she acknowledges this more than once, but she is full and capable of feeling, it just shows....differently. To me, that really sums up how ASD / Neurotypicals often misread each other; we just think different and thats ok.
Good take. But I think Frieren is not reducible as you tried to nail it at the start with it being slowly paced. You redeem your feeling about the magic system from the earlier part of the first season in contrast to the second season. Same is true for pacing, it is fast where it needs to be and slow at other parts. The show does if you wanna nail it down by anything more so willing to experiment and not one element seems to be holy or becomes the "never change a running system thing". If anything the most consistent thing that the show has is characters little quirks, but besides that they change when they interact with others so even the characters are not set in stone nailed down (and with change is that you get perspective changes for recontextualization, so what you may thought was intentions get depper or spwept aside by a twist).
I think that's fair, it is pretty hard to nail down a complex story like Frieren in just a 12 min video. I totally see what you mean by experimental with it's pacing, but I think overall Frieren is a slowly paced story, but that doesn't mean it can't have fast paced sections (such as the Magic Exam arc). It definitely does change the tempo of the pace at times but usually falls back on that slower tempo. Who knows if it will stay like that tho. Thanks for your comment and Merry Christmas!
I can relate to Frieren in a strange way even if it's in a weird way. I'm chronical ill. For 1 day in which I can go outside, meet friends or do work, there are 2 days following I can do nothing at all just laying in my bed. Therefore I have maybe once per week the chance to meet someone. Living this way means while you are still not through your final works at college all people around you allready have jobs, have found love, getting married soon some of them will have kids. I'm changing too but my life stays the same. Just like Frieren I'm checking into their life, have a great day with them and wonder who they might be when I meet them half a year later again. It's a strange way to life once life. (Also since I'm from Germany the names in this series are just plain hilarious. You clearly see the author has not really a clue how german names work and just uses random words out of the dictionary who are related to the concept they represent in the story.)
That’s actually a super interesting experience. I would’ve never imagined someone being able to relate on a level like that but it actually makes a lot of sense with how you explain it. Praying for you and that even if life looks different you have some awesome and amazing adventures! Also yes, the german names are hilarious. Like Darth Vader from star wars and everyone but Germany being shocked at the “twist” of him being Luke’s father lol
@@SirCensorious To me "slow" carries a feeling of uncaring or sloppiness, and I've seen some things where that applies. EVERYTHING about Frieren is measured, intentional and deliberate; there's not a frame wasted anywhere.
@@xwrestling I get that, there certainly are some slower stories that don't need to be and are sloppy, but I think Frieren is a show that showcases good slow storytelling by being deliberate with the things it is showing rather than rushing through to the next scene.
I think it's that Serie doesn't respect Frieren's outlook on magic and being a mage, more so Frieren studying magic for fun (hence the spells) rather than focusing on being more powerful and mastering everything about magic.
Frieren says it herself, she´s not, yet, the mage Serie wants her to be. In their last meeting after Flammes death, Serie tells her to not neglect her training. What she means is, gather as many powerful spells, mainly for battle, as you can. Because Serie knows, that Frieren, as a long lived elf, too, has the biggest potential to some day reach her heights. But what is Frieren doing? She´s living in the woods for centuries, collecting "odd" spells and concentrating her efforts on a technique, hiding her mana, Serie considers underwhelming. Serie seems to me like a disappointed parent who sees the huge potential of her kid, becoming a doctor or scientist, but instead wastes her talent with useless things. Both of them have such different views on magic from one another and I really can´t decide who´s wrong or right here.
Of my 24 years of reading manga and watching anime, I have never seen an anime and a manga that this relatable, deep story telling, cozy and so full of life lessons. It instantly, instantly became my favorite anime. I don't even care what other people will say about it which is also a first time for me. I always argue when people talk sht about an anime I like lol but this one is different like if they can't see how well made this anime/manga is, I'm just wasting my time arguing with them that their brains can't even comprehend how intricate and delicate this masterpiece is. It's for my own peace of mind and I know, Himmel would've done the same.
No idea why I like this anime so much..hits so many cords...it's bitter sweet...I think the older you get the more it will resonate..I'm 51 years old
i started reading the manga a few years back when i was around 25. it became my favorite manga. youre not old, its just that good
It does manage to touch on so many subjects, despite being a fantasy, I think it conveys humanity and the experience of living so much better than most other shows.
Frieren is what got me liking anime. Its story really resonates with my personal beliefs because it’s built around “the journey is just as important as the destination”.
cuz the show is almost flawless. it scores S++ in everything it tries. so much so that i can list the flaws:
1. Fern called Stark a "P&rv" twice at ep12 at tge final moments, she should have only called him it once. it wasnt as funny the 2nd time and especially since we just had an emotional arc about Stoltz like 2 seconds ago.
2. at ep28 Denken claims Frieren is the whole reason he became a mage to begin with, which felt forced tacked on and added nothing and appeared outta nowhere(i am like 500% sure they are gonna flesh it out more in the s2 otherwise it feels unnecessary)
there you go no need to thank me. i listed all of the flaws of this show (all 2 of them) in here a show that has its 500+ minutes of screentime so far.
it is just flawless honestly
@ without spoiling anything, we will see more of Denken.
I have never seen a perfect explanation like this for an anime.
I genuinely love this anime and you explained it impeccably.
Thank you
Thanks! This show really knocks everything it does out of the park
I think another thing that makes this series so unbelievably beautiful is the relationship between Frieren and Fern. Guardian and Ward, Teacher and Student, Mother/Child/Child/Mother, and Friend. They intertwine into one of the most beautiful, natural blooming relationships I've experienced in media. They struggle to understand each other, they learn from one another, and they show love for each other in each of their own ways. It is such a believable relationship. And they, like we are all the richer for getting to experience it.
So true, I didn't take much time to talk individually on character relationships in this video but if I did it would've probably been over the 20 min mark lol. The character writing is nothing short of amazing
It's so damn peak it's now the highest rated anime of all time in many different anime websites. Well deserved if i say so myself
I ain't upset about it at all lol
i agree frieren beyond's journey is probably the best anime i have ever seen, I think a big part of that is that it doesn't seem like smth that is meant to entertain but rather like a story meant to be discovered. I don't know i just love it
In a weird way, I think you hit the nail on the head. It's hard to explain, but it doesn't feel like the author forces things for entertainment's sake but allows the story to slowly evolve over time. It's kind of like a crock pot meal that simmers all day compared to throwing something in the microwave for a quick meal, lol. Respect for it being your favorite show, definitely near the top of my list.
Of my 24 years of reading manga and watching anime, I have never seen an anime and a manga that this relatable, deep story telling, cozy and so full of life lessons. It instantly, instantly became my favorite anime. I don't even care what other people will say about it which is also a first time for me. I always argue when people talk sht about an anime I like lol but this one is different like if they can't see how well made this anime/manga is, I'm just wasting my time arguing with them that their brains can't even comprehend how intricate and delicate this masterpiece is. It's for my own peace of mind and I know, Himmel would've done the same.
It's crazy how a fantasy about an Elf living thousands of years is literally one of the most relatable shows lol. It really is a special show. As for people who don't enjoy it, they are usually people who don't typically enjoy slower stories, which is understandable, it's not for everyone. I haven't really heard anyone criticize the story itself with anything valid enough outside of that tho, I think it's just that good.
And the animation is top notch
So true! Honestly crazy how quality this show is.
Great video. However, I just want to point out some things regarding the magic system and specifically the thing about visualization.
"""
Important lore that a lot of people get wrong [Part 1 of 2]
Short version; Visualization is important, but it's not the be-all-end-all and Frieren doesn't fall for mimics.
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Long version;
(I) The magic system and especially the thing about visualization
A spoiler-free explanation of the magic system in the Frieren world is as follows:
There are 4 components to a mage's magic-casting in the Frieren world:
(1) Mana: How much mana/magical-energy they have.
Note that other than a mage's initial mana-capacity, which is affected by the following;
(a) PROBABLY genetics and/or the acquired skills/traits of the parents (ie, mana in each of the parents when the child was conceived and maybe even the mother's mana until birth). This is because mana seems to be inherited to some extent (eg, Ehre benefitting from being Lernen's granddaughter).
(b) MAYBE their race (ie, demon vs elf vs dwarf vs human). However, it's unknown how this affects the initial mana-capacity (eg, Flamme in her 20s-30s? and Aura in her 500+ years of age, had similar amounts of mana).
(c) Other currently unknown factors (eg, maybe the Goddess' Blessing since Heiter had a ton of mana even in his 20s?).
a mage's mana-capacity is directly proportional to the amount of time that they have been training it (which correlates to their age).
Also, mana has other uses than just being the 'fuel' for spell-casting. Specifically, mages with lots of mana have additional benefits compared to 'normal' members of their race. This point will be further expanded upon in a later arc as well.
(2) Control: How much mana and how precisely they can control it. This also includes controlling spells after they've been fired off (eg, Frieren curving her Basic Offensive Magic around Fern's Basic Defensive Magic in their practice duel).
Note that even raw mana can be used to achieve simple yet effective results if a mage has a high degree of control (eg, Frieren defending her neck against Draht's wire). This point will be further expanded upon in a later arc as well.
Another very important case of mana control, is the act of limiting output. Any decent mage (with a good amount of mana control) can temporarily limit their mana (for the purpose of surprising a foe). This is called Concealment. It's basically a mage reducing their mana output from 100% to as close to 0% as they can, while they try to sneak attack an enemy.
However, after the sneak attack, there is no value to doing this, since an enemy with magical abilities can probably detect that the attacker is reducing their mana output from the fluctuations seen through mana detection (and even the attacker's unconcealed mana level can be detected, thus making the limiting completely useless at this point). Examples:
(a) Fern sneak attacking Lugner in S01E08.
(b) Lugner sneak attacking Fern in S01E09.
Suppression, on the other hand, is the technique of limiting your mana output at all times (to say 10%). This is a useful technique because it can easily create situations where your enemies underestimate you. A mage that performs Suppression, can also do Concealment and how that works is as follows:
They reduce from 10% to as close to 0% as they can, and then go back to 10% after they lift their Concealment.
Now, the reason why Suppression isn't feasible for most HUMANs (and here I literally mean just humans and not dwarves and definitely not elves) is that to be able to fool demons and monsters, you either need to be very talented at mana control like Flamme and Fern, or have a very long amount of time (ie, at least a few centuries) to practice Suppression and reduce the fluctuations as much as possible like Serie and Frieren. Thus, making this technique not worth it, since the return for your time-investment is so little. As Serie says, you're better off training other things.
As for why Suppression is a dishonesty and a mockery of magic, consider the following examples, which are somewhat equivalent to what mages practicing this technique are doing:
(a) A black-belt joining a white-belt martial-arts tournament.
(b) A soldier disguising themself as a civilian, and then attacking a target.
Basically, mages performing Suppression are hiding their power to intentionally create situations where their opponent is led to underestimating them. This would make them dishonest, but also shows them to be not truly proud of their achievements in magic to be confronting their foes straight-on with their full force and without trickery.
(3) Spell: The magical formulas that they know and are able to use. Examples: Basic Offensive/Defensive Magic, Reelseiden.
Note that the spell formula dictates what is possible or impossible. Examples:
(a) Basic Offensive Magic cannot pierce dragon scales or Basic Defensive Magic, regardless of the attacker's visualization. Otherwise, Frieren would've taught Fern how to do it when she asked Fern to attack the Solar Dragon in S01E05 in the former case, and Basic Defensive Magic would actually be useless in the latter case.
(b) Frieren's spell to clean a bronze statue not being usable for a stone statue. If it was purely a visualization based system, then there is absolutely no reason for why Frieren wouldn't be able to use the folk spell in S01E16 to clean Kraft's & Unknown-Priest's statues.
(4) Visualization: Needed to activate/use a spell since a mage cannot make something happen if they can't clearly/exactly picture the desired outcome.
Note that to clearly/exactly picture an outcome, one needs to have a complete understanding of said outcome. Therefore, they should have a complete understanding of the process that created that specific outcome/result as well (since only understanding an outcome without understanding the generating process, will be incomplete at best and flawed at worst). This is pretty much how it is in real life as well.
Furthermore, a weak visualization can weaken a spell, but a strong visualization cannot strengthen a spell. Examples:
(a) Regardless of Aura's visualization, her scales were already tilting towards Frieren, even though Aura was unaware that Frieren had more mana at that point. If it was a purely visualization based system, then Aura would've been able to dominate/control anyone including Frieren.
(b) Ubel's visualization is ONLY taking advantage of Reelseiden's formula to cut anything in a 5? meter radius. Even she is unable to fully maximize the spell, since she cannot visualize cutting Basic Defensive Magic. However, she can visualize cutting more things than most people, so she's still a very proficient user of this spell.
--------------------------------------------------
In summary, the visualization component of magic is just like in real life; you will surely fail if you have a 'bad' mindset, but a 'good' mindset does NOT guarantee success (ie, a 'good' mindset is a necessary, but insufficient condition for success since external factors are still a thing).
Visualization is important, but it's not the be-all-end-all. Spells determine what's possible or not, and a mage's visualization can make them achieve between 0% to 100% of a spell's potential.
They cannot just bs visualize/imagine themself into winning and/or doing the impossible.
Important lore that a lot of people get wrong [Part 2 of 2]
Also, there is technically one more component, which may fall under Control, but since I'm not convinced that it definitely does (and also because it's not completely crucial for just casting magic alone as a singular mage), I've written it below as a separate point:
(5) Detection: How accurately a mage can detect mana in a certain radius with themself at the center. This is extremely important for battle, since it relates to:
(a) Finding hidden enemies (who are probably concealing their mana).
(b) Becoming aware of surprise attacks not caught by the physical senses (eg, being shot from behind).
(c) Not underestimating a strong foe who's pretending to be weaker than they are (ie, mages who suppress their mana like Serie, Flamme, Frieren, and Fern).
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The above info is from:
S01E02: First half of the episode with Frieren teaching Fern.
S01E03: Second half of the episode on Killing Magic.
S01E05: Second half of the episode with the Solar Dragon.
S01E08: Pretty much all of it. :)
S01E09: Pretty much all of it. :)
S01E10: Pretty much all of it. :)
S01E15: First half of the episode on Goddess' Magic.
S01E16: Second half of the episode with the statue cleaning quest.
S01E20: Pretty much all of it. :)
S01E21: Pretty much all of it. :)
S01E26: Pretty much all of it. :)
S01E27: Second half of the episode with the CMA heads meeting.
(CMA = Continental Magic Association & CMA heads = Serie + 1st class mages)
S01E28: Credits showing Ehre introducing Lernen to Wirbel (specifically, 23:37-23:30), which combined with the info from S01E20 (specifically, 14:50-14:55), allows us to conclude that Lernen is Ehre's grandfather.
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Finally, there are a few additional minor notes for points 2 and 3 (ie, Control and Spell) that I have not included due to being spoilers for anime-onlys.
(II) Frieren vs Mimics
Putting aside jokes and memes, I have seen far too many people and even video essays on UA-cam (some of which claiming to be serious analysis types) thinking/saying that Frieren falls for mimics. However, the truth is;
Frieren doesn't fall for mimics. She chooses to take the risk when it's safe to do so (ie, outside of battle situations) because she doesn't lose anything of value (and because the mimic-check spell is only 99% accurate).
Specifically, she loses a little time while in the mimic and then later when fixing her hair (but she doesn't care about that because she has practically infinite time), and suffers a little reputation damage (but she doesn't care about how others view her all that much). On the other hand, she may gain something (eg, maybe the shaved-ice spell shown in the flashback in S01E06).
In summary, she loses nothing and may gain something so why not try them all?
"""
This was basically my entire main post on "rFrieren" titled "Important Lore that a lot of people get wrong".
Dang what an awesome explanation! For this video lengths sake I summarized the magic system considerably, but it's incredible how much depth there is to the magic system (that I completely missed at the beginning of the show lol)
i love the anime cant wait for the next season
Same, definitely one of my most anticipated!
@@SirCensorious can you make a video on bleach it is a really good anime pls make a video on bleach
@amam-r2p Already did! Check out my previous video, although it mostly focuses on pre-Thousand Year Blood War arc
Im so glad this anime came out recently vs when I was a child, I feel like so much of it I would have missed if I watched it as a teenager when I first got into anime
Same! I would've just been looking for action and wouldn't have appreciated the things this series wants to say.
Why very few people analyze the story telling? There is wonderful video essay called "When you tell an entire story in 9 minutes". It explains how well Frieren is written. The writing follows something called "bracketed ideas". The show is structured in a way that it builds its setups very meticulously and preemptively which allows for the pay-off to be very satisfying and not artificially shoehorned afterwards. Not only this but the pay-offs does not end up there. They continues being explored and having impact in other episodes which add nuances to the themes, character and the world. Thus everything - from Fern and Stark catching fish, to Frieren saying random quote like "I am used to loosing things" have meaning in the whole picture.
Another thing is that the show is grounded and realistic. A lot of people fall into the trap of the anime tropes while watching it - expecting power levelling, flexing and screaming who is who, which lead to someone getting stronger etc. But here the struggles are internal. For example very few people noticed how throughout the series Fern was shown several times to pass very nervously between ridges on wooden logs. This represents her lack of confidence in herself.
The relationships are very human like, instead of being hyperbolic and on the nose. Every action has consequences in the world the show is developed. For example Frieren saying "I know" to Fern in ep.17 when holding her hand for 2nd time. We were shown preemptively how Frieren still see Fern as a kid, it showed why Fern felt embarrassed, it gave us their perspectives and also added Stark's one and the origin of holding the hand. So when Frieren said this quote it was build comprehensively. There was no need of 5 mins of verbal exposition or internal dialog who feels what. We saw how the setup and payoffs were build in front of us. This is something which is hard to find in other animes. And I watched over 500 of them.
P.S: Great video!
I think if I went full depth on the writing style I think I would've had to make another video lol. The show is amazing at being intentional with every moment they have your attention for set ups, pay-offs, character moments, and plot developments to feel incredibly natural like you said. It's such a nice change of pace from the exposition dump on what's going on with the plot or what someone thinks/feels. And holy cow that's a ton of shows lol! Thanks for the comment!
@@SirCensorious Waiting for you next video then :)
@@bobislav85 haha perhaps one day I'll make a video on bracketed ideas. Thanks!
Shout out to my man Pey
@@sooyster4033 Pey is awesome, love his content.
I think one of the great things about the story of the Demon King being defeated already, is Frieren reminiscing. The story is over, but we know Himmel’s favourite flower, we know why the giant burger is prepared on a warrior’s birthday, we know the battles fought along the way. The story is “over” and yet we’re learning about it during the new story, at journey’s end…
One story finishes and a new one begins, and we the audience get the privilege of seeing the both unfold as the adventure continues.
Brother you gave me chills. The way you talk about the show does proper service to the nature of the show itself. How delightful.
Thanks so much!
amazing video highlighting the most under utilized part of magic, its creativity and how free it truly is. Amazing video all the way through can't wait too see more of your video's
Appreciate it!
Top tier video probably my favorite video essay on Frieren out there
Yo high praise! Thanks!
great high-quality video!
Appreciate it!
Absolutely amazing video essay. This series has broken many rules, and that has created a wonderful masterpiece.
Thanks a ton! It's really incredible how different this series is from others yet manages to manages to be so incredible.
This is a love letter to enjoying life and understanding those around you.
I think Frieren appears cold to those around her, and she acknowledges this more than once, but she is full and capable of feeling, it just shows....differently. To me, that really sums up how ASD / Neurotypicals often misread each other; we just think different and thats ok.
This show is ridiculously good at portraying how awkward people can be at loving others and how that is okay. We are all awkward in their own way lol
Came from an instagram reel. Keep up the great work! 👍
Gald to have ya here!
Lovely and loving analysis, sir!
Thank you, my good sir!
Good take. But I think Frieren is not reducible as you tried to nail it at the start with it being slowly paced. You redeem your feeling about the magic system from the earlier part of the first season in contrast to the second season. Same is true for pacing, it is fast where it needs to be and slow at other parts. The show does if you wanna nail it down by anything more so willing to experiment and not one element seems to be holy or becomes the "never change a running system thing". If anything the most consistent thing that the show has is characters little quirks, but besides that they change when they interact with others so even the characters are not set in stone nailed down (and with change is that you get perspective changes for recontextualization, so what you may thought was intentions get depper or spwept aside by a twist).
I think that's fair, it is pretty hard to nail down a complex story like Frieren in just a 12 min video. I totally see what you mean by experimental with it's pacing, but I think overall Frieren is a slowly paced story, but that doesn't mean it can't have fast paced sections (such as the Magic Exam arc). It definitely does change the tempo of the pace at times but usually falls back on that slower tempo. Who knows if it will stay like that tho. Thanks for your comment and Merry Christmas!
I can relate to Frieren in a strange way even if it's in a weird way. I'm chronical ill. For 1 day in which I can go outside, meet friends or do work, there are 2 days following I can do nothing at all just laying in my bed. Therefore I have maybe once per week the chance to meet someone.
Living this way means while you are still not through your final works at college all people around you allready have jobs, have found love, getting married soon some of them will have kids. I'm changing too but my life stays the same. Just like Frieren I'm checking into their life, have a great day with them and wonder who they might be when I meet them half a year later again. It's a strange way to life once life.
(Also since I'm from Germany the names in this series are just plain hilarious. You clearly see the author has not really a clue how german names work and just uses random words out of the dictionary who are related to the concept they represent in the story.)
That’s actually a super interesting experience. I would’ve never imagined someone being able to relate on a level like that but it actually makes a lot of sense with how you explain it. Praying for you and that even if life looks different you have some awesome and amazing adventures!
Also yes, the german names are hilarious. Like Darth Vader from star wars and everyone but Germany being shocked at the “twist” of him being Luke’s father lol
Not "slow". Deliberate.
Immensely deliberate, and I think being deliberate usually brings in a factor of slowness, although not always.
@@SirCensorious To me "slow" carries a feeling of uncaring or sloppiness, and I've seen some things where that applies. EVERYTHING about Frieren is measured, intentional and deliberate; there's not a frame wasted anywhere.
@@xwrestling I get that, there certainly are some slower stories that don't need to be and are sloppy, but I think Frieren is a show that showcases good slow storytelling by being deliberate with the things it is showing rather than rushing through to the next scene.
I really want to know why Serie dislikes Frieren. It cant just be because Frieren like a spell that makes flowers and other non-combat spells
I think it's that Serie doesn't respect Frieren's outlook on magic and being a mage, more so Frieren studying magic for fun (hence the spells) rather than focusing on being more powerful and mastering everything about magic.
Frieren says it herself, she´s not, yet, the mage Serie wants her to be. In their last meeting after Flammes death, Serie tells her to not neglect her training. What she means is, gather as many powerful spells, mainly for battle, as you can. Because Serie knows, that Frieren, as a long lived elf, too, has the biggest potential to some day reach her heights.
But what is Frieren doing? She´s living in the woods for centuries, collecting "odd" spells and concentrating her efforts on a technique, hiding her mana, Serie considers underwhelming.
Serie seems to me like a disappointed parent who sees the huge potential of her kid, becoming a doctor or scientist, but instead wastes her talent with useless things.
Both of them have such different views on magic from one another and I really can´t decide who´s wrong or right here.
Of my 24 years of reading manga and watching anime, I have never seen an anime and a manga that this relatable, deep story telling, cozy and so full of life lessons. It instantly, instantly became my favorite anime. I don't even care what other people will say about it which is also a first time for me. I always argue when people talk sht about an anime I like lol but this one is different like if they can't see how well made this anime/manga is, I'm just wasting my time arguing with them that their brains can't even comprehend how intricate and delicate this masterpiece is. It's for my own peace of mind and I know, Himmel would've done the same.